Door sill



y 1968 w. R. 51'. AUBIN 3,382,617

DOOR SILL Filed March 24, 1966 FIG. 7

I N VENTOR.

WILLIAM R, STI AUBIN United States Patent 3,382,617 DOOR SILL William R.St. Auhin, 232 Marie Place, Perrysburg, Ohio 43551 Filed Mar. 24, 1966,Ser. No. 537,215 7 Claims. (Cl. 49-468) This invention relates to doorsills generally and more particularly to door sills which are adjustableand which are so constructed to insulate the inner member of a door sillfrom exterior temperatures.

With the advent in recent years of the ability to economically extrudeor form lighter and corrosion resistant metals to almost any desiredshape or form, many applications of such extrusions or forms have beenfound in the building industry, particularly with regard to doors,frames and thresholds for said doors. One difficulty in the uses whereinthe extrusions are used in exterior door applications is that theconductivity of the extrusion or the like is so high that undesirablecondensation will form on the interior side of the extrusion during coldweather, causing dripping or moist spots adjacent the door. Further, indifferent applications there is a marked variation in the outside toinside dimensions of door frames, so that a threshold of a given widthcannot be satisfactorily used for all applications.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide an improveddoor sill which prevents undesirable condensation on the inner side ofthe sill.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an improved doorsill which is transversely adjustable to fit the varying widths of doorjambs and wall structures while retaining its insulating qualities toprevent the condensation discussed hereinbefore.

'It is a further object of this invention to provide an improved doorsill as described herein which is con- 3,332,.hi7 Patented May 14, 1958The intermediate member is preferably secured to one of the inner orouter members, the other of the outer or inner members having a surfaceadapted to slidably engage the under surface of the intermediateinsulating member. A stop means may be formed in one of the intermediateor outer and inner members. A guide means, adapted to cooperate with thestop means, is formed in the other of the slidably engageable members.The lower means may advantageously comprise first and second sections,at least one of the sections being adapted to provide support for one ofthe inner and outer memstructed to provide in addition to the otherfeatures, 5

a removable drip edge extension.

In attaining the above objects the invention features a sill adapted forinstallation beneath an exterior door, which comprises an outer memberexposed to exterior temperatures, an inner member exposed to interiortemperatures, and means for insulating the inner member from the outermember and the exterior temperatures. The insulating meansadvantageously includes an intermediate member which bridges between theinner and outer members. The insulating means may further advantageouslyinclude lower means positioned beneath the intermediate member andextending to floor level, which may act as a support for the sill andform a continuous thermal barrier between the exterior and interiortemperatures.

The outer member may include F3. front apron extending downwardly andbackwardly to form a drip edge to shed moisture. A drip edge extensionmeans is provided along with means for easily removably securing theextension means to the front apron. The securing means set forth in thepreferred embodiment illustrated herein comprises an interlocking slotand flange assembly formed from the front apron and the extension means.The inner and outer members have forward and rear portions,respectively, and means are illustrated for transversely adjusting theportions with respect to each other. The insulating means includes theintermediate member discussed above which is adapted to bridge betweenthe forward and rear portions. The intermediate member is of sufiicientwidth to overlap the forward and rear portions throughout the range ofthe transverse adjustment for the portions.

bers. The first and second sections advantageously have substantiallyhorizontal slidably engageable surfaces, illustrated herein in the formof a lap joint, to insure that the supporting one of the two sectionsmay continue to provide proper support as the inner and outer membersare transversely adjusted.

Other objects, advantages and features of this invention will becomeapparent when the following description is taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a view in cross-section of a door sill embodying theteachings of this invention;

FIGURE 2 is a cross-sectional view of an outer member of the door sillillustrated in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a cross-sectional view of an inner member of the door sillillustrated in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a cross-sectional view of an intermediate or bridging memberof the door sill illustrated in FIG- URE 1;

FIGURES 5 and 6 are cross-sectional views of support and insulatingmembers utilized in the door sill apparatus of this invention; and

FIGURE 7 is a cross-sectional view of a drip edge extension meansutilized in this invention.

Referring to the drawings, there is illustrated a door sill assemblyindicated generally at 10 embodying the teachings of this invention. Thedoor sill 10 has two relatively adjustable members or sections, an innersection 11 and an outer section 12. An intermediate or bridging section13 is operative to cover the gap between the two inner and outersections 11, 12 and to provide thermal insulation to preventcondensation from forming on the inner section 11.

The outer member 12 includes a front apron 16 which extends downwardlyand backwardly to shed moisture from a drip edge 17. When the door sillof this invention is utilized for certain installations, a removabledrip edge extension 18 may be slidably inserted in slot 19 formed in theunderside of the front apron 16. An interlocking slot and flangeassembly is shown for preventing the drip edge extension from fallingfrom slot 19. Flanges 20 on extension 18 fit into recesses 21 formed onthe sides of slot 19. The respective formations of flanges 2t and therecesses 21 may be reversed from extension 18 to slot 19 to accomplishthe same result.

Normally, door sills installed on concrete slab floors do not requirethe use of a drip edge extension. However, it is desirable to preventmoisture from reaching a wood floor upon Which the door 'sill has beeninstalled. The removable drip edge extension allows the door sill ofthis invention to be used with both types of floors. Further, the dripedge extension is easily positioned for use, permitting the installer tochoose from a variety of extensions of various dimensions which dependfrom the front apron for one-half inch, one inch, one and one-halfinches, etc., according to the requirements of the jab.

The outer member 12 has a downwardly and outwardly sloping upper face 25which terminates in an upper level face 26. Support means are providedby legs 27 and 28 depending from the under surface of the outer section12. In this embodiment the support legs 27 and 28 are shown as restingon the support and insulating blocks 60 and 70. It should be noted thatthe support legs may be extended to floor level to support the outermember 12 if pro-vision is made for continuing the thermal insulation ofthe inner member from the outer member. Support leg 27 may be extendedinto support block 60 to provide an anchoring of the support block 60 tothe outer member 12. Other suitable fastening means known in the priorart may also be used for securing outer member 12 to block 60. The outermember 12 has a vertical stop flange 29 formed at the rear portion ofouter member 12 and the level face 26.

The inner member 1 1 has an upper level face 30 and a downwardlyextending inner face 31. The downwardly extending inner face 31 may actas a support means in cooperation with the inwardly turned supportflange 32. The downwardly extending inner face 31 may be recessed as at33 to receive flooring tile, etc., to be applied to the interior floors.A vertical flange 35 is provided on support flange 32 to secure supportblock and insulating means 70 to the inner member 11. An invertedL-s-haped locking flange 34 extends upwardly from the upper level face30 of the inner member 11.

The insulating bridge or intermediate member 13 has an upper face 49inclined toward the interior of the house to cooperate with insulatingweather stripping means on the bottom of the door to prevent airexchange between the interior and the exterior of the building. Theintermediate member 13 has a lower or under surface 41. The under faceor surface 41 has a forward level portion 43 adapted to engage and slideon the upper level face 26 of the outer member 12. A groove 44 may beformed in one of the s'lidably engageable surfaces 43, 26 to receive acalking bead to prevent the entry of moisture to the interior of thedoor sill assembly. A guiding groove 45 is formed in the under face 41to receive the stop flange 29 of the outer section 12. The width of thegroove 45 determines the range of transverse adjustment of the doorstill means 10. A forward wall 46 and a rear wall 47 of the groove 45provides shoulders against which the vertical stop flange 29 may abut todetermine the range discussed. An inverted L-sh-aped slot 42 is formedin the under surface 41 to receive the locking flange 34 of inner member11 to secure the intermediate bridge or member 13 to the inner member11.

Referring to FIGURES and 6 there is illustrated support and insulatingmembers generally indicated at 60 and 70. The member 60 has a downwardlyand outwardly sloping upper face 61 terminating in a level face 62 and aforward portion 63, all formed to conform to and to support the outermember 12. Support leg 27 rests upon the level surface 62.

Member 70 has an upper face 71 which abuts against the lower surface 41of the intermediate bridge member 13 and forms a continuous thermalbarrier with bridge 13 from the floor level to the upper part of thedoor sill to provide insulation between the inner member 11 and theexterior temperatures and outer member 12. A slot 77 is formed in thelower surface 74 of the member 70 to receive the vertical flange 35 tothe inner member 11 to secure the block 76 to the inner member 11.

The members 60 and 70 are provided with substantially horizontalmutually slidably engageable surface 66 and 76, respectively, to form alap joint. This enables the upper level surface 62 to continue toprovide firm support for the leg 27 whenever the door sill istransversely adjusted to a wider position, since the surface 66 of theblock 61 is still resting on and being supported by the surface 76 ofthe block 76. The members 60 and 70 are shown as wood but may be othersubstantially rigid insulating materials capable of supporting outersection 12 via legs 27 and 28. As mentioned 'hereinbefore, legs 27 and28 may be extended tofloor level to support the outer member 12 if aninsulating means is advtnageously provided beneath the bridging means toform a continuous thermal barrier between the inner member 11 and theouter member 12 and the exterior temperatures.

In operation, it may be seen from the above description that the doorsill apparatus may be transversely adjusted within the range provided bythe width of the groove 45 to a desired position. In certaininstallations, the door sill may be retained in its adjusted position bysecuring the support and insulating members 60 and 70 to the adjacentdoor jambs. This may be particularly desirable when the door is beingshipped as a complete unit with the door jamb, weather stripping,threshold and/or sill units as a completely assembled package ready forimmediate installation. In other instances, it may be desirable toretain the door sill apparatus at its adjusted position by securing theinner and outer members and/ or the supporting and insulating blockmeans 60, 70 directly to the floor.

There has thus been describe-d herein a preferred embodiment of anadjustable door sill which provides for optimum insulation between theinner and outer members thereof to prevent undesirable condensation onthe inner member as well as to decrease the heat leak around the door bythe conduction of heat from the interior of the building to theexterior.

In conclusion, it is to be noted that the embodiment disclosed anddescribed herein is meant to be illustrative only and not limiting inany sense. The embodiment described serves merely to illustrate thespirit and scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. A sill adapted for installation beneath an exterior door comprising,in combination, an outer member exposed to exterior temperatures, aninner member exposed to interior temperatures, means for insulating saidinner member from said outer member and said exterior temperat-ures,said outer member including a front apron extending downwardly andbackwardly forming a drip edge to she-d moisture, drip edge extensionmeans, and means removably securing said extension means to said frontapron.

2. A sill as defined in claim 1 in which said securing means comprisesan interlocking slot and flange assembly formed from said front apronand extension means.

3. A sill adapted for installation beneath an exterior door comprising,in combination, an outer member exposed to exterior temperatures, aninner member exposed to interior temperatures, means for insulating saidinner member from said outer member and said exterior temperatures, saidinner and outer members having forward and rear portions, respectively,means for transversely adjusting said portions with respect to eachother, said insulating means including an intermediate member adapted tobridge between said forward and rear portions, said intermediate memberbeing of sufficient width to maintain contact with said forward and rearportions throughout the range of transverse adjustment for saidportions.

4. A sill as defined in claim 3 in which said intermediate member has anunder surface and is secured to one of said inner and outer members, theother of said inner and outer members having an upper surface adapted toslidably engage said under surface of said intermediate member.

5. A sill as defined in claim 4 in which a stop means is formed in oneof said under and upper surfaces and a guide means adapted to cooperatewith said stop means is formed in the other of said surfaces.

6. A sill adapted for installation beneath an exterior door comprising,in oonbination, on outer member exposed to exterior temperatures, aninner member exposed to interior temperatures, means for insulating saidinner member from said outer member and said exterior temperatures, saidinner and outer members having forward and rear portions, respectively,means for transversely adjusting said portions with respect to eachother, said insulating means including lower means extending from saidinner :and outer members to the floor level to form a continuous thermalbarrier between said exterior and interior temperatures.

7. A sill as defined in claim 6 in which said lower insulating meanscomprises first and second sections, at least one of said sections beingadapted to provide support for one of said inner and outer members, saidfirst and second sections having substantially horizontal slidablyengageable surfaces.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Olson et a1. 49470 Coco 49467Olteda'l et a1. 49-468 Odeg-aa-rd et a1. 49469 Lee-hr 49469 Ramsey 49468Riedl 49468 Pease 49468 Wahlfeld 49469 DAVID J. WILLIAMOWSKY, PrimaryExaminer.

PHILLIP C. KANNAN, Assistant Examiner. a

1. A SILL ADAPTED FOR INSTALLATION BENEATH AN EXTERIOR DOOR COMPRISING,IN COMBINATION, AN OUTER MEMBER EXPOSED TO EXTERIOR TEMPERATURES, ANINNER MEMBER EXPOSED TO INTERIOR TEMPERATURES, MEANS FOR INSULATING SAIDINNER MEMBER FROM SAID OUTER MEMBER AND SAID EXTERIOR TEMPERATURES, SAIDOUTER MEMBER INCLUDING A FRONT APRON EXTENDING DOWNWARDLY AND BACKWARDLYFORMING A DRIP EDGE TO SHED MOISTURE, DRIP EDGE EXTENSION MEANS, ANDMEANS REMOVABLY SECURING SAID EXTENSION MEANS TO SAID FRONT APRON.